Walk Away
by Zara Allegra Vespertine
Summary: I don't know why she's with me. I only brought her trouble since the day she met me. In his personal opinion, he should be jailed for corrupting a young woman like her. But he knew he can never stay away from Ariadne. Not now, not ever. Arthur's POV.


**A/N: A dramatic one shot written in Arthur's POV! Apologies for the grammar and some OOC. Do I need to write that I do not own Inception or the lyrics of the song taken from Walk Away by the awesome band, The Script. Please check out their song in Youtube. **

**oOoOoOo**

Arthur quietly lit the cigarette he placed between his lips. The scent of tobacco calmed him as he inhaled deeply. He stood motionless near the plate glass window of his hotel room, staring absentmindedly at the blinking lights of the buildings outlining the night sky. It was still to early for the late night revelers to go to sleep. And despite the low hum of the efficient air-conditioning, he could almost imagine the cacophony of sounds emitted from the streets down below his hotel floor room level. It is tourist season after all. And most of the visitors would opt to make the most of their stay in this vibrant city.

He blinked, eyes registering the eerie outline of his face and naked physique against the clear window, darkened from the lack of light save for the lights outside, highlighting the shadowed planes of his face and body. He scratched his growing stubble, and for the moment he longed for a shower. He glanced back at the table beside the king size bed and saw it was only 1:45 in the morning.

And his eyes strayed over to the woman lying motionless in the middle of the bed. The sheets twisted all around her body, barely covering her exposed skin. The soft, glossy riotous curls of her hair tumbled behind her back as she lay flat on her stomach, shapely legs spread slightly, lips puckered up, long eyelashes curling on her cheeks. She looked thoroughly exhausted from the lovemaking session he had subjected her to, as he felt his heart give a tug of satisfaction.

Ariadne looked so young and innocent when she sleeps like that.

_**I don't know why she's with me  
I only brought her trouble since the day she met me**_

In his personal opinion, he should be jailed for corrupting a young woman like her. She was only barely out of her teens when he first met her. Damn Cobbs for disregarding the rules. A sophomore in college. She was like a walking contradiction of all sorts: hazel eyes that seemed to shift from green to gold; her weird preference to paisley scarfs; her full lips that could give Angelina Jolie a run for her money; her pixie-like stature and down to her bandaged covered fingers that she got from the hands-on carpentry and industrial equipment she handles.

She looked too young to be holding a saw, a power drill or even a roll of blueprints, as he imagined what she looked like during her normal day of classes. He had only seen her twice before Cobb had formally introduced to the team. He had retrieved her files that from the administration records that Miles had managed to retrieve for him. Walking down the hallway carefully balancing a couple of heavy books, a T-square slung on her shoulders and a backpack, she looked young with her hair carelessly tied in a messy ponytail, her freshly-scrubbed face bright and pinkish from the cool weather outside.

_**If I was her, by now I would have left me  
I would have walked away  
**_

When they were preparing for the Fischer job, he has his doubts about her. She looked like a fragile flower that would easily break by his fingers. Cobb initiated her immediately to the world of espionage dreaming. And when she woke up during her first dream, he could not help but be concerned for her. He knew that having someone invade your dreams is like mind-rape. It always gets brutally uncomfortable especially the first time around.

And the most amazing thing is, the great Arthur Williams was showing emotion around her. And he hated her for making his armor slip. But he could not help it. The only way he could react was to behave coldly and intimidating towards her, once they started burying their heads in finishing the job. How many times did his heart gave that unfamiliar tug of pain whenever he manages to hurt her intentionally? How many times did he taste the metallic tang of blood whenever he bit the inside of his mouth after being sarcastic towards her?

But as the deadline looms above their heads, as the noose tightened around their necks, she had proven herself that she can be graceful under pressure. And that she has nerves made of steel. The fact that she was determined to prove her worth in a room full of men, made him want to take her in his arms and keep her under lock and key, lest the others realize what a valuable gem they have in their midst.

_**But now I've broken away  
**_

It was a mistake to kiss her inside that second layer. It was a mistake to let his mind get distracted by the smell of freesias and honeysuckle. A mistake to steal a kiss from her.

_Quick, give me a kiss._

Even though he knew there was little chance of her remembering it. It somehow made him ill at the thought of taking advantage of her confused state. Their choreography was happening so fast and there was barely any time to take in everything. As a novice, she would be overwhelmed. And her mind would eventually forget the small details. Unlike him, who was so used to the job, plus the fact that he seldom have dreams of his own anymore. And as soon as the plane touches the tarmac, as soon as Cobb breezed through the immigration with nary an arresting officer on sight waiting for him, as soon as they got all to their respective destinations, he had made the resolve the break away from her. And he did. He really did.

_**Somehow instead she forgave me  
She said a woman's got to do what she's got to do  
Even if it means she denied herself the truth**_

For eight long, torturous long months he refrained from checking up on her personally. He would rely on the occasional news shared by Miles or Cobb, or even Eames and Yusuf, who would see her once or twice after the mandatory six months of not contacting each other under any circumstances. Hell, even Saito managed to check up on her when he was in Paris for a business meeting.

Ah, fuck this. Who was he kidding? He was hooked by her since day one. Why would he lie to himself about not checking up on her personally? He hacked her mobile phone and he could track her whereabouts anywhere she goes. A point man like him won't be deterred by distance as long as he has the means and technology, he can trace what she did in the last couple of days, right down to what she had for breakfast yesterday. He had only stopped short of knowing what kind of underwear she has on right now. Installing a camera inside her home is out of the list, and he wanted to draw a line to curb his appetite about her.

Instead of continuing to stay away from her, he found himself looking up at the doorstep of her building. He found himself knocking at her door. He found himself looking at her eye to eye when she opened the door panel to let him in, as he drinks in the surprise look on her face. And he found himself kissing her with such ferocity and hunger it made him want to cry with shame. For as he tore her clothes away from her lovely skin, he knew there would be no turning back when he claims her for his own selfish needs.

_**Cause when you're in too deep you wake up when it's too late,  
You've fallen in love in the worst way  
And if you don't go now then you'll stay**_

He thinks he is an insane, neurotic pervert, whose fascination with her borders into obsession. He gets a certain kind of thrill, when he holds her soft hands, peppered with a few callouses from gripping her calligraphy and drawing pens too much. Hands, covered with a few Mickey Mouse bandages from cuts and scraps she got from the art knife which she uses to cut the smooth boards for her scaled models or when she welds pieces of metals to create customized furniture pieces?

Who in his right mind would get excited over uncovering the creamy patch of skin hidden underneath her silk scarf? Or the way she walks around her apartment, barefoot, her shorts riding high on her thighs when she reached out to retrieve a can of soup from the high cabinets.

How do you explain the dilation of his pupils when he drinks into her sight? The flaring of his nostrils as he inhaled her feminine scent.

_**Cause I'll never let you leave, never let you breathe  
Cause if you're looking for heaven, baby it sure as hell ain't me**_

He wanted to eat her, wanted to consume her entire being. Like a an unfortunate victim of famine, he wanted to take her body and soul, and he would still never be satisfied. Everytime he pushes her roughly to bed, tearing her undergarments away from her flesh, he would brand her skin with searing kisses. His lips would search for those hidden crevices in her body, his nose would nuzzle her inner flesh. He would nip, and bite, lick and suckle to his heart's content. He would make her blood sing one tune for him, and he would make sure she would only moan out one name: his.

_**So walk away  
[Walk away]  
Walk away, oh  
Save yourself from the heartache, oh  
Go now before it's too late  
**_

The first time he got angry with her, it was when Eames kissed her goodbye and caught her on the lips. He stopped by to visit them before heading to Monaco.

It was an accident, of course. The kiss. Knowing Eames, he only liked to tease them both. Him especially.

_You need to relax, darling. _He drawled on his ear, with that annoying British accent of his. _You already have her, why do you act so possessive? It was only a kiss between friends._

Indeed it was. But he still could not help when his eyes narrowed that way. If Eames could kiss her that easily, any close colleagues of hers can do the same thing.

He was unrelentingly cruel that night to her, when he tried to ask her as casually as he could muster, whether Eames is better than him. She stared back at him with huge eyes full of hurt, but he did not care. He was too caught up his jealousy to stop the torrent of words. That she is his and his alone. And that he would never let her go even if she pleaded.

_Not even death can separate us. _He swore to her.

_**She's standing in the heart of darkness  
Saying I know you got a soul even though you're heartless**_

_**How could any woman in their right mind be so blind,  
To find something this safe  
Instead of walking with me she should have walked away  
**_

_Arthur._

_Arthur. Can't you see that I love you?_

He had almost hit her when he came to fetch her from school. He had just turned around the corner of the corridor when he saw her lab partner hugging her with his huge frame. He stopped, his eyes seeing red. The man who hugged her was almost twice his size and has the physique of a football player. But with his dexterity and nimble feet, he knew he could take him head on. _How dare she let him hug her like that?_

Before he could make a move, the man saw him, smiled in a friendly fashion and wave his greetings before letting her go. She seemed to freeze when she felt his presence, but composed herself before turning around to greet him enthusiastically. She tried to conceal the fear and hurt in her eyes. He knew she was silently accusing him for having little faith in her, but she never uttered a word.

_**She finds color in the darkest places  
She finds beauty in the saddest of faces  
For such a groovy and headstrong city girl  
Could've had the world**_

_**but she's fallen in love in the worst way  
**_

Why does he question her fidelity? Why can't he just count his lucky stars that he managed to ensnare the heart of a girl such as she? Why can't he just enjoy the moment of being in love and being loved in return?

He knew the answer lies within him.

He was afraid of losing her. He was afraid of losing his head over her if she leaves. And he knew the more he acts like a bastard the more he would be pushing her away. But strangely, she stubbornly clings to him, refusing to leave him despite the atrocious behavior he displays towards her. She still continued to believe that he would change, that the darkness consuming his heart would disintegrate. She stubbornly believes that she would eventually get the fairytale she has been dreaming of.

_**I don't know why she's with me  
I only brought her trouble since the day she met me  
If I was her, by now I would have left me  
I would have walked away  
**_

And so, the day began when he decided to start hoping and start dreaming again. His decision to step away from the yawning abyss before him is his turning point. Ariadne is someone who does not thrive in darkness. It is not too late for him to change. If he needed to take baby steps towards his redemption, by all means he should do it. She was strong enough to withstand his cruel nature. Surely she is more than enough to guide him towards the light.

And he would start making amends to her by loving her as how she deserves to be loved.

Arthur removed the cigarette from his lips and stared at it for a full minute before crushing it inside the base of the ash tray. He spun on his heel, went to the bathroom to rinse his mouth and went back to the edge of the bed, where his beloved Ariadne slept peacefully, her breathing even and gentle.

He found himself kneeling to her side of the bed, where he brushed the stray hair off her face. He felt his heart swell with love.

"I love you with all my heart." He whispered. _I have been the worse man you have ever had the misfortune to meet. But you will be my saving grace and salvation. And I promise you my life as long as you will never leave me alone._

"Arthur?" she opened her eyes blearily, and she used her hands to wipe the sleep off her eyelids. "Why are you out of bed? No wonder I felt cold."

He smiled tenderly in reply.

"Come back to bed and hold me. You need your rest. We have a whole day to explore Amsterdam ahead of us. This is our honeymoon, remember?"

Of course it is. They got married a week ago in an intimate ceremony.

He settled on the space she previously occupied. And as soon as he wrapped his arms around her, she immediately fell asleep. And for a few seconds more, he too, went to sleep. Content and happy.

_**But still she stays  
Still she stays  
Yeah, she stays  
She stays**_

**oOoOoOo**

**A/N: Reviews would be lovely and highly appreciated!**


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